In Which
by Icka M. Chif
Summary: In Which Zelgadiss gets a mission, finds a cure and suffers the consequences. mew [COMPLETED]
1. In Which Zelgadis meets Prince Phil and ...

_A Poem for Byzantium_

_Lyrics by Joanna Stevens of Solar Twins_

_from the Delerium CD: 'Poem'_

Ch. 1: In which Zelgadiss meets Prince Phil and receives a request.

_unbidden shadows of you formed yesterday._

_i ran away to a room here on the bay_

_interrupted life again, another new beginning_

_where the silence echoes you're no longer with me._

~*~

Something was missing, Zelgadiss mused as he took a sip of the warm liquid in his cup. The town bustling, people were smiling, the atmosphere was positively cheerful.

And yet, it still felt as if something was still missing.

It was rather annoying, like an itch right between the shoulder blades that you can't quite reach to scratch.

He was sure hadn't been to this seaside town before, so it would be impossible for him to tell if something was missing from the town or not. Having the floating abilities of a marble statue, he tended have a minor dislike of water and strayed away from the larger bodies of water unless in an active search for his cure. 

Such as the boat ride back from outside the Barrier Lands. 

And he was pretty sure that this wasn't the town that he had left with Lina, Gourry and Amelia on their journey to the outside lands.

Zelgadiss took another sip, wondering where everyone was, and how they were doing. Were he a betting person, he'd place odds that Lina and Gourry were still travelling together, Hikari no Ken or no Hikari no Ken.

Amelia was probably still in Saillune, stopping evil in the name of Justice and helping Prince Phil run the country. A hand reached down and brushed the bracelet still on his water bottle. 

He had told Amelia while fighting DarkStar that he would think about going to Saillune. And he had. Even if he had chosen to wander the Outside lands after the battle, he had still given it some serious thought, both before and after he had made his decision.

Saillune was only a few weeks travel away from the port. He could take a detour and give her back the bracelet. It would be nice to see a familiar face again.

Zelgadiss shook his head. He had come back to the Barrier Lands for a reason. If he could find the 'Well of Truth', he could be cured and then he'd have something to rejoice about with friends. 

If not, well, it still would be nice to see a friend.

As if summoned, a shadow fell across his table. "Zelgadiss-san!?!" A loud booming voice called.

He tilted his head back to see if the voice could possible belong to the person that he thought it did, his hood sliding off his head in the process. "Hello."

"I thought I recognised your cloak!" Prince Phil clapped him on the shoulder in greeting. "Good to see you again, Zelgadiss-san!"

Not exactly a friend, but a familiar face. Close enough. "Care to join me?" He offered, motioning to the empty chair across the small cafe table from him. 

"You're too kind. Thank you." Phil sat down with a relived sigh. The older man looked tired, Zelgadiss noted. Must have been a rough day for the Crown Prince of Saillune. He signalled the waitress, requesting another order. The girl gave a brief nod and vanished into the kitchens. 

"Amelia told me you were travelling outside the Barrier Lands." Phil commented. "How long have you been back?"

"My ship just docked a few hours ago." Zelgadiss replied politely, the feeling of something missing increasing as he glanced around. Unusually on political trips, Phil travelled with his daughter, but there was no sign of her. "How are you and Amelia doing?"

"I am much the same as the last time you saw me." Phil smiled as the serving girl returned carrying a tray of various stuffed breads and another carafe. Phil thanked her as she set it down in front of him and handed her a coin in payment. She curtsied and left. 

Phil sighed, pouring himself a glass. "Amelia left a few hours ago on an Ambassador Mission to Grimwold." He commented. "It's a state just outside of where the Barrier was."

"I remember hearing about it." Zelgadiss nodded. "Due to the strange fluxuations in the barrier over the years, they don't like magic of any sort." He'd had made a mental note to stay away from there when he had first heard about it. Fortunately, his travels had not strayed in that direction.

"'Not liking' is a mild way to put it." Phil said heavily. "They want the barrier back up to prevent any sort of magic from entering their lands. We now have reports that they are willing to go to war over this."

Zelgadiss blinked. "And Amelia is going -there-?"

Phil nodded. From the expression on his face, he wasn't pleased about the thought of that either. "The Alliance hopes that by sending a White Mage there that they can prove that all Magic is not harmful, and thereby avoid a war."

"And Amelia is the best person suited for the job." Zelgadiss mused, following the trains of thought. It made sense. More sense than sending someone like Lina. Zoana was still trying to re-build from Lina's brand of 'diplomacy'.

"Exactly." Phil looked at Zelgadiss for a moment, a deep searching look. Zelgadiss waited patiently, fighting the uncomfortable urge to twitch. "Where are you going from here, Zelgadiss-san?" Phil finally asked, apparently satisfied with what he found.

Zelgadiss took a sip of his drink. It was cooler than before, but still warm enough to be drinkable. "South." He finally admitted. "Southeast, actually. There's a legend I want to check out."

Grimwold lay to the Southeast as well. With Zelgadiss' speed, it wouldn't be hard for him to catch up to Amelia, especially with only a few hours head start.

The silence suddenly grew heavy, despite the still cheerful atmosphere around them. Phil chewed thoughtfully on several of the rolls while Zelgadiss finished his drink. He was debating refilling his cup when Phil cleared his throat.

"If you see Amelia, would you keep an eye on her?" Phil finally asked, the concern for his daughter clear in his voice. He pulled a bag off his waist and set it on the table next to Zelgadiss' carafe. 

Puzzled, Zelgadiss picked it up and opened it to peek inside. It was full of gold, with a few stray jewels thrown in. "That should be enough to cover travel expenses." Phil commented as he ate another stuffed bread.

Understanding dawned. Prince Phil was hiring him to essentially be Amelia's bodyguard, or escort. He shook his head and set the bag back down on the table, this time next to Phil's plate. The prince looked at him with wide eyes.

"I am not Lina." He said calmly, picking up his sword and rising. "You don't need to pay me for something I would do regardless."

The larger man physically relaxed at the words, nodding. "Thank you, Zelgadiss-san. You're a good man."

Zelgadiss shrugged it off. Amelia was a friend, and that was all there was to it as far as he was concerned. She would do the same for him. "I have something of hers to return, anyway." He grumbled. This caused Phil to chuckle.

"Of course, of course." Phil grinned. "Have a good journey, Zelgadiss-san."

"You too. Until we meet again, Phil." He waved, turning and walking off. Phil waved back, turning his attention to the food. 

Zelgadiss sighed, pulling up his hood and mask for the trip thru town. Phil wouldn't let Amelia walk by herself, so she was probably riding on horseback with at least one or two people with her. From the town to the barrier had been was at least a few days walk, so it would probably be at least a day before they crossed into Grimwold.

If the information he had was correct, the Well was less than a day from the town, which is why he had chosen to dock here. 

So then the plan was: find the Well, get the cure and join Amelia.

And if the Well wasn't the cure he was looking for, like so many other leads had turned out to be, he was still headed in the right direction to give Amelia back her bracelet. 

And maybe ask her why she had given it to him in the first place. He still wasn't very sure why he had it.

Plan firmly set in his mind, Zelgadiss left the town.

~*~

_here and now, i feel that i'm embracing freedom_

_even though i may be alone, that's ok_

_TBC…_


	2. In Which Zelgadiss goes looking for a cu...

Ch. 2: In Which Zelgadiss goes looking for a cure. And finds it.

_through the darkness i would walk in the streets_

_confessions never seemed to provide me with a release_

_held me down and tried to cure me tried to give me a reason_

_but nothing would separate this burdened mind from me_

~*~

The cave that held the was dark, foreboding almost. Zelgadiss snorted. Why were most shrines in strange creepy areas? He pondered. Was it an unspoken rule that they had to be in the most obscure areas and decorated with dark and depressing themes?

"Lighting." The spell flickered in his hand and he walked forward. He wasn't afraid of the dark, nor of anything that the darkness might hide, but it have him a nice distracting train of thought so that he didn't have to think of the possible motivations behind Prince Phil's request. Now that he had time to think on it, it seemed a little strange.

And he was used to dark, creepy looking places anyway. After all, he was dark and creepy looking as well. 

Thus emboldened, he walked forward.

The tunnel was long and twisting. Out of the corner of his eye, the walls seemed to shift occasionally although he couldn't hear anything moving. The only sounds he could hear were his own footsteps and the occasional gust of wind travelling along with him. 

A small corner of his brain noted that the wind sounded like a wolf's howl. He ignored it in favour of focusing on his quest.

The Pool of Truth was supposed to be a magical pool, revealing the true form of whoever looked into it. From what he had read, it also had a reputation of curing various aliments and curses, depending on what the person was on the inside, or their true form.

The fact that he had to travel halfway around the world to discover this was an irony not lost on him. 

By and by, he reached a carved entrance. On one side was what appeared to be a winged feline. The other side was a winged canine. Their wings overlapped at the top of the entrance to form the arch. The winged animals sat on pedestals, which were also carved. At first glance, it looked like a serpent and a crouched human. 

He looked again. The entire entrance had changed. Now it was a set of smooth tall pillars with a coiled dragon at the top.

Raising an eyebrow, Zelgadiss walked thru the doorway, determinedly NOT looking at the entrance again. He didn't need to know that he was going out of his mind in addition to being cursed. 

Past the entrance, it was brighter and he dismissed the Lighting spell. The walls here were smooth here and appeared to glow faintly with their own light. 

Sensing his goal was near, he sped up. The tunnel curved up slightly , and opened into a large chamber. Zelgadiss paused, looking around. The walls were smooth here too, also glowing with their own white light. In the back of the room, there was a small raised area. 

That had to be it. He walked over to it eagerly. The rise he had seen was the lip of the Pool. Smooth, clear water filled it, as crystal as glass. Yes, this had to be it.

He bent down at the lip to look in. If what he had read was correct, he should see his true self. He would be human again. 

Zelgadiss looked in, and saw...

Himself.

Not as a human, but as a chimera. Wiry hair, blue skin with stones embedded in it, silted cat eyes and all.

"Dammit!" Disappointment and bitterness rose like bile in his throat, hazing his vision. Angry, he swatted at the water, shattering it's calm surface. He turned to storm out. He should just Mega Brando the whole place and move on.

As he began to gather the spell like he had done so many times before, he discovered that he suddenly couldn't move. His hands were stuck before him and his legs wouldn't work. 

"You would defile my place?" A voice echoed from the surrounding walls. 

Kuso. This one actually had a guardian.

As he watched, frozen, the walls changed. They were still smooth and luminescent, but now they were covered with vines, roots and leaves. And from them, a figure appeared. 

It was female, of that he could tell. Past that bit of information was a mystery. She appeared to be attached to the plants by her hair and the ends of her robes, both of which were moulted green and brown of various shades. 

A nature spirit, or a Kami. And she didn't look happy.

He glared at it, seething. Why shouldn't he blow the place up? He thought bitterly. The 'Pool of Truth' had lied! This wasn't his true form!

She glared back, fires in her eyes as she appeared to read his mind, measuring him against some unknown scale. "The pool did not lie. By it's nature, it can not."

It did lie! He silently raged back. He was human! Not some beast freak of nature!

"You may have been human, once." She corrected, gliding closer without ever touching the floor, the vines supporting her weight. "But now you're not even worthy of being called a beast. Animals do not destroy things around them for spites sake. I should toss you in the pool right now, and see what new form you take on. With your anger, I'm sure it would be quite monstrous."

He forced himself to calm down, if only by a fraction, to try and think. There had to be a way out of this. Without angering the Kami further. He was at her mercy for the moment and he wasn't sure what she would do.

"What's this?" The Kami snarled, turning it's attention away from Zelgadiss to look at one of the walls. Zelgadiss followed her gaze and froze. 

Like looking thru a mirror, he could see a small travelling party ride on horseback thru the forest. He didn't know the 2 on the sides, but the one in the middle nearly made his raging blood turn cold.

Amelia. 

What was she doing passing thru here? He thought furiously, suddenly very, very calm in his panic. She had to have had the worst timing... If the Kami was furious at his intrusion, there was the chance that she might take it out on Amelia as well. He began to furiously fight against what ever it was holding him still. There was no need to get her involved in this too.

"You know her?" The Kami asked, suddenly a bit too interested in the dark haired girl. "She's got an interesting aura to her. Good deal of spirit too."

Crap! Crap! Crap! His mind ran around in helpless little circles. He couldn't tell her that he did know Amelia! And if Amelia did find out he was here, the last thing needed right now was a Justice speech! Dammit, he couldn't protect her if the Kami decided to get revenge thru her!

"Hmmmm..." The sound was stretched out a bit too much for the chimera's comfort. She looked down at him, what was either a mischievous or malicious spark in her eyes. "That's just perfect."

What?! Perfect? How?!

The Kami bent down to look him in the eye. "I think I'll grant your wish after all, Zelgadiss Greywords." She said, a mocking tone causing the hairs on the back of his neck to rise. "You obviously hate that form your in right now and the memories it brings, so I'll remove it from you for most of the day. Not all, that would let you off too easily." She wiggled a finger mockingly at him, then patted him on the head.

"A beast you are, lest a beast you become."

"What?"

He had just enough time for the words to fall out of his mouth before he was blown out of the cave. 

Way out.

Over the treetops, over a stream, over the road, over the horsemen on the road and right into a tree.

And then down the tree he went. Hitting nearly every single branch on the way down it seemed. Then he hit the ground.

After the shock wore off, he attempted to move, using ever single curse word he could think of in his head. Curse that Kami! What had she done to him? He felt as weak as, well... as a newborn kitten. 

There was a crash of footsteps nearby, and the sound of voices. He looked around to find the source and found his vision blocked by large green things. 

It would help if he could sit up, he finally decided. So he did. 

And immediately wished he hadn't. There was something wrong with his right arm, it hurt and wouldn't respond like it should. He attempted to glare at it, willing the sparkly black dots that moving the arm brought around to go away.

"I found it!" A cheerful voice called as the foot steps stopped by him. The voice was familiar to him... 

Zelgadiss looked up into a pair of warm blue eyes, the colour of the sky at twilight. It was Amelia. 

He opened his voice to warn her and promptly-

Mewed.

~*~

'I beast I am, lest a beast I become' is on a Vampire: The Masquerade poster above my bed. Always thought it sounded cool, and it just seemed to fit.  


	3. In Which Zelgadiss attempts to adapt to ...

Ch. 3 In which Zelgadiss tries to adapt to his cure. And discovers bugs!

here and now, i feel that i'm embracing freedom

even tho i may be alone, that's ok

and looking out to a different sky will disengage me

absence is never the answer, i know, but it serves as my shade

~*~

Zelgadiss woke up to find himself curled up on a rug on the floor. That wasn't too unusual. He slept in strange places all the time. 

What -was- odd was that he wasn't wearing any clothes and he couldn't quite remember how he got there. 

He sat up and received another shock. There was someone in the bed he was next to.

Amelia. 

Zelgadiss froze, feeling much like a deer frozen in the light of a Fireball. The analytical part of his mind commented that this -would- explain why he was on the floor.

Which lead him back to the question of why he was naked. 

He paused, forcing himself to stop panicking and THINK. 

Fact #1: He was inside a room at what appeared to be an inn. He'd been in a lot of rooms at inns in his life, and they all tended to have similar qualities that the individual feeling of houses and castles lacked. 

Fact #2: It was late at night. He could see part of the sky thru the window shudders. According to his internal time sense, it was probably around Midnight.

Fact #3: He was in a room with the Princess of Saillune. Who was asleep and not likely to wake up anytime soon unless he moved around and woke her up. 

He wasn't stupid enough to do that.

So what was he doing here?

The last thing he remembered was talking to the Kami back at the cave. Then he had been thrown out of the cave and...

And...

And...

Zelgadiss poked the hole in his memory much like a kid picked at a scab. He had flown out of the cave and hit a tree. And fallen down said tree. 

He'd been injured, he remembered. Someone had picked him up and healed him. 

He poked the memory some more, trying to get a better picture of what had happened. There was a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach that he was missing something important. 

Wait... Someone had -Picked Him Up-?!

As if that was the poke that was needed, his memory of the day finally flooded forth.

Amelia had picked him up and healed him. She'd been able to pick him up because he had been small. 

He had been turned into a cat.

A small kitten, to be precise. 

Zelgadiss flinched. 'A beast he was, lest a beast he become', indeed.

Well, at least he wasn't a dog.

He pondered over the rest of the days events. Amelia had evidently decided to adopt him, or at least until she found his owner. He'd ridden on her shoulder most of the day, having felt uncomfortable about being held against her chest, even as a cat. 

A fact that he was grateful for. He had enough transgressions against the Princess just by sharing a room without her knowledge on his conscious with out inadvertently putting his hands, er, paws where they shouldn't be.

One of the guardsmen travelling with her had pointed out that he looked a lot 'like that one blue fellow she had travelled with'. Amelia had given his kitten self a searching look before agreeing. 

She'd theorized that maybe that he was an escaped chimera project, hiding from one of the Black Sorcerer Guild. She'd seen such things on her travels.

Zelgadiss snorted, remembering the name she had given him with a wiry smile. 

'Grey' or 'Grey-kun'.

Short for 'Greywords', his last name. He doubted anyone else had caught that. 

And a definite improvement over most cat names. 'Tama-chan' for one. Or 'Snookims'.

His admiration of the Princess rose a few notches. 

The rest of the day had been uneventful. Normal travelling, small conversation, boring landscape, all to end up at an inn to spend the night before doing it again in the morning. 

The question was, what was he going to do now? 

The Kami had said that she would remove his form and memories for most of the day, but not all of it. Considering the form he was in presently, it probably meant that during some part of the day he return to his humanoid chimeric state. The rest of the time he'd be... a cat. With the mind of a kitten. 

He grimaced. That wasn't much help. His new found 'cat side' adored Amelia. He could leave, but what would he do? For one thing, he couldn't travel around as a naked chimera. And with his luck, he'd wake up and find himself back in Amelia's room with a head full of cat memories again.

So the logical answer was to continue travelling with Amelia. He had promised Phil that he would keep an eye out for her if he could anyway. Well, maybe his cat side could. If only he could remember during the day, he'd be able to help from behind the scenes even more. 

But could he tell her? 

He mused over this for a moment. She had seemed happy just to have a small companion or pet to travel with. The guards had been polite, even a bit friendly, but she had seemed lonely to his cat senses. 

Would she be less happy if she found out that 'Grey-kun' was actually 'Zelgadiss'? 

Probably. He decided. Especially since he acted like a cat. He didn't want her pity, which was bound to happen if she knew. Zelgadiss gave a quiet snicker. How far he had fallen in just one day.

So in the mean time, he'd do what he could to protect her in cat form. He just had to try to remember to remember in his cat form. There was a faint twinge, and he could feel himself start to change. He glanced out the window. It had only been about an hour. 

He had to remember, he chanting in his mind as he shrank. He had to remember... he had to remember.... he had to-

There.

Senses alert and straining, he looked around the room, his strange train of thought gone. Something had moved. How dare something small invade -his- territory!? 

Well, he'd protect his human from the invader! With a quick pounce, he landed on the shiny skittery thing. It clicked at him and tried to get away, waving its tiny legs at him.

He batted at it a bit, then bit down on it. He'd teach this thing to invade his territory!

Not bad tasting, he mused. And crunchy too!

~*~


	4. In which Zelgadiss discovers all is not ...

Ch. 4: In Which Zelgadiss discovers all is not as peaceful as it may seem. (snippets from the next few days)

_i do not seek and do not intend to find_

_a calmer ocean or a sun that will never rise_

_my world will never change and time will bring you to my thoughts_

_and i'll move on and then forget you all over again_

_moving on, i can forgive you all over again._

~*~

"It's a MONSTER!!!" The lady screeched.

He looked up at his human, who looked stricken at the outburst. That wasn't a very nice thing to say. Sure his human wasn't exactly the best looking from a cat's perspective, but to call his human a 'monster' was a bit rude.

"He's only a kitten!" His human protested. 

Oh. They were talking about him. How insulting. He sniffed disdainfully. What a rotten greeting. 

"That's not a cat." A second lady scoffed. "It's a hideous creature."

"He's not hideous and he's not a creature. Grey-kun is very well mannered and polite. Just because you're not used to something doesn't make it bad." His human retorted, before turning and walking off. A Champion of Justice did not get into petty fights while acting as an Emissary of Peace.

He hopped down and followed her, his tail waving in the air to show his displeasure. Just because he was a cat didn't mean he was -stupid-.

"Of course, this from a person whose father looks like a troll." The first lady stage whispered. Several people tittered. His human stiffen, but continued to walk on, resolutely ignoring the insults.

He shot the stinky people a nasty glare. There would be many strange nasty things in their beds tonight, oh yes.

~*~

Upon introduction, he decided he didn't like some of the humans that his human was here to see. 

They stank.

They still smelled like humans, but there was a different scent to them. Bad smell. Their eyes were too bright, there was too much showing of teeth. They were predators.

He didn't mind predators. He was one after all. But they were trying to hunt his human. That was unforgivable. She was stronger than them, if inexperienced. She was not prey. And they were NOT allowed to touch his human. Not while he was here. 

He would keep his human safe from these... stinky 2 leggers. The sleeping part of his mind agreed too. The sleeping part of him understood more of what was going on. It would help.

He narrowed his eyes and purred.

~*~

The back of his head itched. He paused to scratch it, letting his human walk ahead of him a few steps. 

Ahh. Blissful relief. 

A strange sound caught his attention. A creaky stretchy sound. Odd. He looked around and saw a strange shadow on the roof above them. It had a funny point to it, which was aimed at his human. 

The sleeping part of his mind recognised it. Flying sticks with feathers were meant to be used outdoors, away from people. And definitely not pointed at his human.

This was bad. 

He tossed himself up in the air, in the hopes of catching the stick. 

Only to find that the stick was a lot smaller than he thought. 

He looked down. No, he had gotten bigger. A LOT bigger. Bigger than his sleeping part, even. He hadn't known he could do that.

A second creak caused him to drop the first stick. The flying stick bounced off his ribs. He smirked. Sticks and stones couldn't break -his- bones.

The sleeping part spoke up, it had an idea.

'Deim Wing'.

A ball of wind gathered in front of his open jaws, then burst forward to blow the shadow attacker off his post. 

He snickered as he turned to trot after his human. He hadn't know he could do that either. The sleeping part of his brain knew a lot of useful stuff. 

He was back to kitten size before he had gone more than a couple of steps.

~*~

Zelgadiss sighed, brooding while Amelia was in the one place he wouldn't follow her. The bathroom.  

He caught sight of his reflection in the window and quickly glanced away. He didn't even make a good cat. Cats were aloof, independent. While he-

The door opened and Amelia walked in, fully dressed and ready to face the vultures again. "Grey-kun!"

His ears perked up as he jumped off the window ledge. It was his human! Not just any human, but -his- human! The one that smelled really really nice and knew how to scratch his ears just so and could get all his itchy spots and...

Cats may be aloof and independent, Zelgadiss mused as he purred from his seat in Amelia's arms, but kittens were not.

~*~

It was boring, he decided. He didn't understand how his human could stand it.

The other 2 leggers would drone on and on, one would get mad, they'd all get mad, they calm down, drone on and on and it would start all over again. 

His admiration for his human rose several more notches. His human didn't seem to be bored at all. Even if his human was too distracted to give him a proper scratch instead of an absent minded petting. 

Of course, it seemed rather silly that his human was here at all. He'd admire his human a lot more if his human would just get up and leave. 

But his human couldn't. He knew that. His human had important things to do that he didn't understand. But that was okay. The sleeping part of his mind knew what it was about.

The sleeping part also thought that most of the 2 leggers were being 'superstitious, ill-educated morons', what ever that meant. The sleeping part was also on edge. Something about fighting being good for business.

He didn't understand it. What he did understand was that these boring group meetings gave him the perfect opportunity to check out the other 2 leggers. Especially the ones that didn't smell right. Their eyes were a little too bright when they looked at his human. 

He didn't like it. His human was -His- human, not theirs.

When his human's attention was distracted, he slipped from his seat on her legs and padded around under the table in search of something interesting. Or maybe a fluttery thing to play with. They weren't as good as the crunchy ones to eat, but they were still fun. 

Boots, boots, boots, toes -Ooo. Toes were fun. But they were also tricky, the 2 leggers screamed if you touched them. Better not. He continued on. More boots, boots, boots with dangly things...

He paused. Those could be fun. It was one of the stinky humans too. And boots meant that he wasn't touching toes. 

The sleeping part of his mind commented that the dangly things were called 'ribbons'. Ribbons could be tied into knots.

It then supplied how one tied a knot. He grinned. He liked the idea of knots.

He pulled on the dangly ends of the ribbons, 'un-knotting' them. He then followed the sleeping part of him instructions on how to tie a knot. 

The sleeping part of him was smart, he mused happily as he tapped the knot with a paw. Knew all sorts of neat stuff.

Knot completed, he wandered back to his human for a nap. He was tired now. But no longer bored.

~*~

When the council disbanded, the Duke rose, took one step and promptly fell on his face. The fancy bows he had been so proud of on his boots had somehow come loose and knotted together. 

When attempting to figure out how it had happened, no one thought to look at the cat.

~*~

"C'mon Grey-kun! Time for bed!" His human knelt down next to the bed and stared at him. He looked up at his human. No thank you. He was comfortable where he was.

Unfortunately, his human had other ideas. A hand reached out and grabbed him, dragging out from the safe confines of the underside of the bed. He mewled his disagreement. "C'mon. Good kitty. You can sleep on the bed, it's a lot more comfortable." His human chided, picking him up completely. 

He gave his human a strange look as his human set him down on the soft mattress. Then with a graceful leap, he jump off.

His human grabbed him again and put him back on the bed.

He leaped down.

His human put him back up.

He hopped down.

His human placed him back on the bed.

He jumped down.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Down.

After several minutes of playing kitten ping pong ball, his human finally gave up. "Fine." His human acquiesced, climbing into the bed. "But no crying that you can't get up on to the bed later!"

As if. He twitched his tail, calmly parading back to his spot under the bed. It was nice and dark down here, with a good view of floor, in case someone decided to sneak in. And no one could spot him there either. It was a good place to protect his human from.

Like from those yummy little crunchy things. 

~*~

TBC…


	5. In Which Zelgadiss goes to a party and l...

Ch. 5 In which Zelgadiss protects what is important to him.

_here and now, i feel that i'm embracing freedom_

_even tho i may be alone, that's ok_

_and looking out to a different sky it seems so easy_

_absence is never the answer, i know, but it serves as my shade_

~*~

She was beautiful, Zelgadiss realised as soon as he spotted Amelia on the dance floor.

His now sleeping cat-side snickered. It had told him as much. But in Zelgadiss' option, his cat-side was a bit biased, much like every little kid thought that -their- mommy was the most beautiful in the world. 

But in this case, his cat-side hadn't been exaggerating. 

They had gone out costume shopping for the Masquerade earlier in the day, his cat self riding on her shoulder in the city. They had visited a few clothing shops which had been mostly boring until he had found some bells to play with. 

The bells had been attached to a gypsy outfit, the same she wore now. White over-tunic that came about knee level over a skirt made of some sort of gauzy pale pink and light blue material. The pale blue in the skirt matched the billowy sleeves coming out of the tight bodice. A darker blue sash with bells on it accented both her eyes and the blue in the sleeves.

Much to his current embarrassment, he now realised that the bells he had been playing with were on the area that now covered her chest. 

The bells made an interesting contrast to the rest of the sounds of the party. People talking, silverware clinking as the servants ran around offering drinks and refreshments, musicians playing softly in the background as people waltzed.

Amelia spotted, he eased into the crowd, allowing their numbers to hide him. He had entered thru the one place that the Grimwold's, with their anti-magic attitude, had overlooked as an entry. The balcony. 

It was amazing the places a simple Levitation spell could take you when people didn't think about magic.

She turned, and for a second, he was sure she had spotted him. Then she turned as someone came up to talk to her. 

Score one for his costume. He had taken a cue from her costume and dressed as a gypsy as well. But since he had to quickly scrambled to make one, it had been in dark materials that had just come out of the laundry room.

He didn't quite want to know why someone had black silk sheets, but he wasn't going to question it. It worked.

Satisfied that she wasn't going to recognise him, he drifted closer. He had decided to keep an eye on her while stuck in human form as well, instead of hiding as he usually did for the hour that he was 'Zelgadiss' instead of 'Grey'. Something dangerous was going on, and neither he or his cat-side were comfortable leaving her alone for long.

He noticed Amelia wobble a bit as she declined an offer to dance. From a distance she had looked normal, but up close he noticed that her eyes were a bit glassy and she looked flushed. She looked ill.

A servant passed by, offering him a glass of wine. He declined, the drink smelling wrong to him. The servant nodded and wandered off, offering other people wine. 

While the servant had distracted him, Amelia had wandered next to him. "Excuse me." She murmured brushing past him, and nearly fell. He caught her, holding her upright with an arm around her waist. 

"Oh!" Amelia put a hand on his arm, stabilizing herself. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me..." He caught the faint scent of the same smell in the wine on her breath. His cat-side informed him that he had smelled that in the kitchens as well. The mice there seemed to find it bad and had left the food with it in it alone. 

He silently cursed the Kami yet again for giving him such a selective memory. "Dance with me?" He requested, taking her other hand and pulling he into the dance before anyone could notice their positions.

Glassy eyes cleared for a moment. "Zelgadiss-san?" She whispered.

"Shh. You've been poisoned." He said softly. "Can you cast a 'Flow Break'?" Shamanism was his specialty, he still hadn't mastered some of the White Magic spells. 

"I... I think so." She closed her eyes to concentrate, silently mouthing words. He could feel the magic flare thru her body from where he held her before it faded. 

Amelia blinked a few times, then grinned, tightening her grip on him. "Zelgadiss-san! I thought it was you! What are you doing here? When did you get back?!" She asked, practically glowing with excitement. 

"A few weeks ago." He said calmly, amused by her reaction. "I was in the area and thought I'd see how you were doing before they discovered I don't have an invitation."

Amelia beamed at him. "I'm glad you did. I missed you. We all did, actually. Lina and Gourry ask me when ever we see each other if I've heard from you yet."

"So they're still travelling together?" 

She nodded. "They're strange that way. They say that they're looking for a new blade for Gourry. Haven't found one that will keep up with him yet."

"Why am I not surprised?" He muttered, smiling fondly. The song ended and they bowed to each other. "Care to join me for a breath of fresh air?" He offered, extending an arm.

She looked surprised for a moment, then looped her arm thru his, blushing faintly before banishing it with a grin. Zelgadiss briefly wondered if the Flow Break hadn't taken care of all the poison before he realised that he was blushing faintly too. 

It was odd being human, he mused as he escorted her to where he had entered. He never had any problems blushing around her as Grey.

Of course, he was in a completely different mind as Grey too. The wonders of having a split persona.

"It is good to see you." Amelia reiterated as they stepped out into the cooler night air. "Have you had any luck with your quest?"

"Uh.. kind of." He'd forgotten about that. "I'd ask how you are doing, but I can see for myself." He commented, perhaps a bit too coldly.

She looked a bit surprised the topic change, but nodded. "I didn't think they'd try something in a large crowd." She admitted, sitting down on the ledge that surrounded the balcony. "Usually if someone's going to attack, it'll be you're alone and by surprise."

"You sound like you have experience with this before." He commented, frowning.

"Okaasan was killed by an assassin after Gracia-neesan." She whispered. 

Wheels rolled and clicked in his head. They'd had a similar conversation in the past. "Your older sister, who left."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Tousan was worried that it might happen again here, but with Grey-kun's help, I've been keeping ahead of them."

"Grey-kun?" He echoed, barely remembering to play dumb.

"My friend, Grey-kun. He's a cat." She said, a touch of pride in her voice. "I found him on my way here, and he's been following me around ever since. He reminds me of you, somewhat." 

"Ah."

"Don't worry about me, Zelgadiss-san." Amelia straighten, a determined spark in her eyes. "Tomorrow is the vote and the day after we go home."

"You could have to flee if the vote is negative." He pointed out. "You might want to send your escorts on ahead. It's easier to Ray Wing of you're by yourself."

"I don't think I can send Grey-kun away." She mused. "He's too loyal. But I think you're right. It would be safer for them if I meet them at the border."

"And pack tonight, just in case. Even if the vote is in our favour, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared." 

Amelia nodded. "What about you, Zelgadiss-san?"

"I can take care of myself. Besides, I'm just passing thru." Not exactly a lie, but not the truth either. It seemed he was doing a lot of that. It was becoming a habit he didn't necessarily like. 

She nodded. "I know you can take care of yourself, but it doesn't stop me from worrying sometimes." Amelia bit her lip, as if she wasn't sure if she had said too much.

He smiled. "Then I thank you for your worry. But like I said, I can take care of myself."

"You've got more lives than a cat!" She grinned, agreeing. He froze for a moment, before realising that she hadn't made the connection of him as a cat. 

The hairs on the back of his neck rose, and he glanced up at the sky. His time was almost up. Crap. He must have spent more time watching her in the ballroom than he had realised. 

Amelia noticed his stillness. "Zelgadiss-san?" She asked, her voice concerned. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Fine. I've got to go." He said quickly. 

"So soon?" 

Zelgadiss felt a pang of regret at the sad tone in her voice. "I'm sorry. Take care of yourself, Amelia."

"You too, Zelgadiss-san." She smiled, a bit of a bittersweet smile. He felt much the same way. They had both gotten to see each other, but not for very long. "Perhaps I'll see you again soon, right?" She added cheerfully.

"I..." He paused. "I don't know. Good night, Amelia."

Before he could say anything to further complicate things, he jumped off the railing, casting a quick Levitation before he hit the ground and floated off.

~*~

2 leggers were all jerks, he decided as he wiggled out of the pile of dark cloth. With the exception of his human, of course. He had thought that his sleeping self wasn't a jerk, but then his sleeping self had gone and made his human sad. Which made him mad.

So his human was sad, his sleeping part was sad as well and he was mad. Tapestry would be shredded later.

Anomalously, of course. He had learned a -few- things from the jerk of a sleeping portion.

Ears laid back, he stiff-leg trotted back thru the large stinky building to the ball room. It was still full of swirling dizzy 2 leggers. Peering between ankles, feet and toes, he thought he spotted his human still sitting where his sleeping part had left his human. He started to cross to his human, only to be stopped by a pair of legs belonging to 2 of the stinky humans. 

They were talking softly about his human. 

He froze, his sleeping part suddenly very alert. This was bad, the sleeping portion of his mind informed him. Something that involved hurting his human. He wouldn't allow that. 

The stinky 2 leggers walked off, moving toward one of the hallways. He followed with a little prompting from his sleeping part. If the stinky 2 leggers were talking about hurting his human, he wanted to know. His human be okay alone for a little bit longer.

The 2 leggers didn't notice him following them. They were stupid, even if they talked quietly. The sleeping part understood what they were talking about and bristled, angry. 

He followed them to a room down a dark hallway. Inside the room was lots of rolls of paper. All of them had dark scribbles on it, some of them had globs of burnt wax on them. It smelled in here. 

One of the stinky 2 leggers held up a roll of paper for the other to see, one with a couple of globs of wax on it. The second one looked at it, then asked a question. The first answered, and they began to laugh. 

He shivered. It was not a nice sound. The sleeping part of him told him it was okay to leave now, it understood what it needed to. It knew how to protect his human now. 

He was only too happy to run back to the safety of his human while the sleeping part made plans. 

He didn't like this. He didn't like this at all.

~*~

Okaasan = Mother. 

Neesan = Sister

TBC…


	6. In Which Zelgadiss gets the heck outta D...

Ch. 6 In Which Zelgadiss makes a decision and retrieves several important things.

_He made a brusque gesture, and the wine bottle toppled under his arm. He turned and caught it in mid-air with a grace that seemed inhuman to my troubled senses. He paused, looking at the bottle as if it were the future, his head and back bent._

_"You-you are very strong, aren't you?" I whispered._

_"Strong?" He said in a queer detached voice that did not sound like his own. "Yes, I am strong." He lingered over that last word as if he detested it._

-Excerpt from page 163 of 'Beauty: A retelling of the story Beauty and the Beast' by Robin McKinley.

~*~

"Nyaaaa!!!" 

His human was fast asleep.

"Nyaaaaa!!"

His human was in danger.

"Nayaaaaaa!!" 

So there fore, he had to get his human up and awake to be aware of the danger.

"Nyaaa!!"

However, his human wasn't co-operating. Staring hadn't worked. Or head butting and purring. Neither had attacking those wiggly things on the ends of his human's feet. Which meant it was time for drastic measures.

"Nyaaaa!"

He plopped down on his human's face face, covering his human's mouth and nose with his side.

"Neh."

A few seconds later, his human sat upright in the bed, gasping for breath. His sleeping side didn't exactly like the idea of attempting to suffocate his human, but was hard pressed to argue the results.

"Grey-kun?! What are you doing?!" His human demanded with a scolding look. 

"Myaaaaaah." He ignored the question and jumped off the bed. He stopped, looking at his human with wide eyes. "Myaaaaaaaa."

His human looked puzzled, and slid out of the large bed, pulling on a robe as his human did so. Satisfied, he wandered over to the door and looked at it.

"Nyah."

Still looking confused, his human opened the door and peeked out. Nobody was there of course, and he walked out in to the hall.

"Meh?" He cast one last look at his human before disappearing down the hallway.

***

"Where are we going, Grey-kun?" His human asked, following him down the darkened hallway. His human was smart, taking care to move quickly and quietly in the shadows so not to get caught by the other 2 leggers in the castle. 

He would have silenced his human with a look, but they were already to their destination. He ducked into a dark alcove that he'd scoped out earlier and circled it a few times. His human got the clue and ducked in there. He rubbed up against his human's legs and purred. 

Voices poured out from the room that smelled of paper, ink and burnt wax. The two stinky 2 leggers from the party were in there and talking. The sleeping portion of his mind bristled, they were talking about his human.

His human let out a small gasp as his human understood what they were talking about. He didn't but the sleeping part was nudging him to complete the next part of the plan. 

Satisfied that his human would stay put, he wandered over to where a large moth had been hidden earlier and un-pinned it from the rock holding it. Carefully clamping it in his jaws, he pranced to the door of the stinky room and let the moth go. 

As he watched the moth flutter around, the sleeping part of his brain was taking note of what the 2 leggers were talking about and the pieces of paper they were waving around. He didn't understand what was on them, but he knew they were important. 

He slunk thru the shadows to the far side of the room as the moth fluttered it's way to the stinky men's candle. Perfect. He crouched down, wiggling his tail around as he got ready...

And POUNCED on to the table, skidding forward and sending rolls of papers flying toward the door. The stinky 2 leggers screamed as several scrolls made a bid for freedom, rolling out the door toward his human. 

He snickered. Perfect. 

Adopting an 'innocent' look, he started chasing the moth around, tossing papers off the table and on to the floor in the process. A few that the sleeping part said were important, he threw toward the door. Not all of them would make it out the door, but hopefully enough would to be useful. 

His play was abruptly stopped when a large hand picked him up by the scruff of his neck. One of the stinky 2 leggers hand picked him up. Ugh.

"It's that deamon cat." He grimaced at the scent on their breath. And 2 leggers said that -he- was a filthy animal! "What's he doing here?"

"Who cares? Get rid of it." 

"Right." There was a flash of metal, then a dagger shattered on the skin of his belly. 

He gave them a Look. Idiots.

"Uh-oh." The one that had just lost his dagger muttered. 

"Oh, just throw it out the door. We'll poison it after the Saillune Princess is dead."

"Right."

With a flick of their wrist, he went flying out the door. He twisted in mid-air, tucking his feet under him and landing in a crouch. He rose, flicking the tip of his tail at them.

They shut the door behind him in response. He snickered. 

Mission successful.

~*~

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry. The sleeping part of his mind chanted as he pelted down the halls with his human.

Panic rolled around his human like a fog. His human was afraid. His human had just realised that some of the 2 leggers wanted his human dead. 

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry. 

The sleeping part of his mind was waking up as his humans fear affected him. It understood -why- this was happening.

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.

His human had accomplished what his human had set out to do. His human had prevented a war with the boring meetings and the squabbles in the hallways.

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.

This meant that the stinky ones hated his human. If his human was dead, fighting would happen. If fighting happened, the stinky 2 leggers would profit from it.

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.

The stinky ones didn't know his human knew. The stinky ones didn't know that his human had proof of what they wanted to do. So he and his human had to leave before they killed his human. 

Fortunately, his sleeping part had already warned his human. They had a plan. They would get out of here, and back to the 2 leggers who could protect his human and prevent fighting. 

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.

His human dropped a scroll. He grabbed the ribbon that held it closed in his teeth and kept running. They were almost to his human's room. 

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.

His human slipped inside the safety of the room and quickly put the rolls of paper in a pouch, then changed into travelling clothes. 

Not wanting to watch, he stayed by the door, looking out for stinky 2 leggers. 

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.

There was a shout from where they had just come from. The stinky ones had just figured out his trick. 

"Myahhh!!"

"Let's go, Grey-kun." His human whispered, slinging the pouch with the scrolls over one shoulder as his human picked him up with the other hand. 

Everything important had been packed up and sent ahead with the 2 leggers they had travelled with earlier, in preparation of this occasion. The few dresses that still hung in the closet could stay here.

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.

His human walked over to the window and looked out. The night was peaceful and calm beneath their window. 

The other 2 leggers had given them this room because it was far from the ground. There fore theoretically harder to escape from.

Silly 2 leggers. 

His human closed their eyes and chanted softly.  "Ray Wing." 

His human could -fly-.

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry. 

A bubble formed around them, lifting them in the air, and out the window. His human kept a tight grip on him as they picked up speed, shooting over the castle rooftops. 

Someone shouted at them from below, an arrow bouncing off of the Ray Wing around them. His human faltered slightly, then pressed forward, picking up more speed.

The castle disappeared behind them. 

That didn't mean that they were safe. Safe was back at his human's home. 

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry. 

As they flew, he noticed that they started flying lower and lower. The sleeping part of his mind was alarmed by this. The lower they flew, the more dangerous it was. 

He also noticed the scent of blood. 

His human noticed it too. "Not now, not now..." His human chanted as the bubble started to fade away from them, dropping them even closer to the ground. 

It finally faded away, leaving his human standing in the middle of a road, the castle they had just left was a glowing form in the distance. 

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry.

The sleeping part of his mind noted with increasing alarm that it must be 'that time of the month' for his human. Which meant no magic to protect his human.

Only him.

And there was the very faint sounds of horses in the distance. Someone had followed their flight. 

His human let out a string of words that both startled and impressed the sleeping part of his mind. He had not known that his human knew such vocabulary. 

His human dropped him on the ground and started to trot in the direction of that they had come from originally. 

Hurry. Hurry. Hurry!

This was too slow, the sleeping part of his mind chided. They needed to move fast, and they needed to move fast -now-. The horsemen were gaining, the lead that they had gained by flying was too rapidly fading. 

He was faster than his human, 4 legs being a much superior mode of transportation than 2. But he was too small to carry his human. 

Or was he?

The sound of shouts and horses hooves startled his human. They had been spotted. An arrow flew over their heads, hitting a tree next to them.

Hiding wasn't an option anymore. This required speed, not stealth. 

Hurry. Hurry! Hurry!

His human started to run. There was no way to out-pace the horses, but his human wasn't going to give up without a fight. 

Several arrows flickered at their heels, just barely avoiding them. 

Screw this.

Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!

With a muted growl, Zelgadiss found himself running like the wind, Amelia on his back. 

The cat part of his brain, now a comforting buzz in the back of his skull noted that they were, indeed a lot faster than his human, Amelia.

He was also faster than the horsemen behind them, he noted smugly. And he was arrow proof. They couldn't touch him. 

"G-Grey-kun?" Amelia gasped, crouching down to get a better grasp on him. 

He supposed he still was Grey-kun, just in a larger form. Much larger. Probably about the size of the tigers Rezo had shown him once. 

He wasn't quite sure what had happened, but at the moment, the pound of dirt beneath his paws and the warm weight of Amelia on his back were more important than what he looked like. 

With a pleased growl, he raced on toward Saillune. 

~*~

Um.. okay, in case no one quite got what's going on, Zel is still a cat, but now he's about the size of a tiger, large enough for Ame to ride easily. And his 'Zel' mind and his 'Grey' mind have basically fused. More details on that next chapter. ~_^ 

There should be pics of him in all 3 forms (Zelgadiss, Grey-kun and BIG Grey-kun) either on the Amelia and Zelgadiss mailing list (azroyalblue) or on my website. (www.mischif.net)

…which means I'm gonna hafta finish making that In Which page, with alllllll the art work soon. *Sigh* 

Considering the fic comes from the pics (1-2 pics per chapter, plus miscellaneous stuff) , that's more than I'd like to deal with! ^^;;

As always, comments are welcome, but not necessary! Ja!


	7. In Which Zelgadiss makes a decision and ...

**Ch. 7 In Which Zelgadiss makes a decision and retrieves several important things.**

_I know who you really are._

_La-di-da!_

-The Murmurs 'La Di Da'

Zelgadiss ran.

And ran and ran and ran.

Until he was too tired to run anymore. In which case, he would shrink back to his kitten size and Amelia would carry him. 

And run and run and run. 

The running wasn't as exhausting as it was keeping up the larger form. It took more energy to stay large enough to carry Amelia than it did to cast a half dozen successive Ra Tilts. 

But the price was worth it. They had already covered 3 days ground in a little under a day. The sun was just setting as they approached the spot that Amelia had originally found him as a cat. 

Which was good, because he needed a break. Preferably a nap. Nice long one.

Even better, he heard some familiar sounds. There were people nearby fighting over food. Familiar sounding people. 

Such as one Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev. 

He slowed down to a casual trot, heading off the path. On his back, Amelia tensed, looking around. "Grey-kun?" She questioned. He let out a muffled growl, the larger forms version of a purr. 

There was a small clearing up ahead, a fiery redhead and a golden blond wrestling over what appeared to be dead roast bird. 

"Lina-san! Gourry-san!" Amelia called, waving. With a relived sigh, he shrunk back down into the kitten size and promptly tripped over his toes. Amelia noticed and scooped him up in her arms. Normally he would protest being cradled this close to her chest, but he simply didn't have the energy to argue. 

"Amelia!" The pair scrambled over, all smiles as the fight for food was momentarily forgotten.

"How are you doing?! Where have you been?" Lina bubbled. She noticed him and leaned down for a closer inspection. "Who's this guy?"

Zelgadiss feinted ultimate indifference and yawned at her. 

"Hey! He looks sort of like Zel!" Gourry noticed. Zelgadiss debated biting him, but decided against it. Sleep was a better option.

So he closed his eyes and tuned out the chatterings of his friends, slumber overtaking him almost immediately.

***

It was much later that night when he finally awoke. It was nearly time for him to change back into a human, something he wanted to do far away from his friends. 

He sat up and stretched, feeling some bones pop into place. He needed that. Feeling a bit better, he noticed that someone was sitting up next to the fire. It was Gourry, he'd fallen asleep. 

Zelgadiss knew better. As long as everything was peaceful, for all intents and purposes, the swordsman was out like a light. But if anything untoward was around, the swordsman would be at them in a heartbeat, asleep or not. 

On Gourry's other side was Lina, fast asleep. Amelia was sound asleep as well, he was pleased to note. He took a few careful steps away from the Princess, careful not to disturb her. Gourry twitched, his head dropping a bit, but other than that, the 3 humans remained asleep. 

Good. Made his job easier. 

He crept out of the clearing, then picked up speed, running along the forest floor. 

***

The cave was as dark and as cool as he remembered it. That was a soothing fact, somehow. If it had been different, he would have been afraid that it meant that he wasn't welcome. 

Of course, he wasn't sure if he was welcome, similar markings or not. 

Well, he'd find out. 

He passed by the pillars, carefully avoiding looking at them, even as they shifted out of the corner of his eyes. It hurt his head to try to sort the images out, so he sped up a bit, passing them by. 

By and by, he reached the chamber. It was as clean and as sparse as before. And just as deceivingly empty. 

He sat down in the middle of the room and waited, both grateful for the chance to rest, and dreading the end of it. 

Zelgadiss didn't have to wait long. The Kami appeared, not from the plants on the walls this time, but from the earth on the ground. 

The Kami didn't say anything, and seemed content to float and watch him as various roots and stones silently dancing across her surface. 

She was the first to break the silence. "Come to look in the Well again?" She asked, curiosity mixed with minor distain colouring her tone.

He shook his head. Maybe later. He was on a mission right now. 

The Kami began to look interested for the first time. 

The things he had left here, he mewled. The sword and the books. In stead of letting them turn to dust here, he wished to give them to his friends. They could use them. 

She blinked. 

Then she waved her hand, his clothing, sword and other objects appearing on the floor as if they had always been there. 

He bowed his head, a silent thank you. She chuckled.

"You might want to take the cloak with you, as well as the objects you came for." She said, a droll tone colouring her voice.

He looked up at her, puzzled. Then a familiar ache swept over him as he transformed back into his human form. Zelgadiss glanced down and blushed slightly.

"Thanks." He muttered, swinging the cloak over his head, the familiar folds covering him yet again. The Kami smirked.

"You're welcome."

He gathered the book and sword, taking care not to damage them as he did so. They seemed to be in the same condition as when he had last seen them, but he was not so foolish as to unsheathe the sword in the presence of the Kami to make sure. 

Zelgadiss rose, the cloak covering him modestly. "Thank you." 

"You're most welcome. Good luck to you and your friends." 

He nodded, then paused, looking at the well. "I don't suppose... If I come back someday..."

The Kami shook her head, drifting close enough to touch his hair, a mother's caress. "You've already got what you need." She murmured, a look of infinite kindness in her soul-black eyes.

"Oh." And suddenly, he understood.

He gave her a slight bow, then turned and walked out of the cave.

***

His hour in human form was almost up by the time he got back to the camp. Zelgadiss smiled slightly to himself. Perfect timing. That gave him just enough time to write the notes he wanted to, then go back to sleep. 

When he got Amelia back to Saillune, the first thing he was going to do was crawl someplace nice and dark and sleep for several days. Yes, that sounded quite pleasant. 

Zelgadiss yawned, sitting down next to the fire, across from Gourry. The swordsman was still asleep, having opened his eyes just long enough to recognise him as not a threat and then falling back asleep. Zelgadiss envied him sometimes. 

Muffling another yawn, he pulled a quill and a small bottle of ink out of Amelia's bags and quickly wrote his notes. The first was to Gourry. 

Gourry's was easy. He'd heard that he was looking for a new sword and hoped that this one would hold up until he found a better one. 

After all, if it had survived the Chimera's battles, it should hold up to the former Swordsman of Light.

He folded up the note and tied it to the hilt of his sword, giving the blade one last glance. 

Zelgadiss -liked- his sword. It was a good sword and his constant companion for almost as long as he could remember. It had defined him as a swordsman. 

But he didn't need it now. He couldn't use it most of the time anyway, and he'd rather it being used for something useful, like protecting Lina and Gourry, then rusting away. 

And the other swordsman would take good care of it. It may have not been a family heirloom, but it was a friends heirloom.

With a reluctant sigh, he sheathed the sword and set it down next to Gourry, where he'd often see him place the Hikari no Ken while resting.

He was going to laugh the first time Gourry pulled out -this- sword and shouted 'Hikari Yo!!'

The next note was to Lina. Lina was slightly harder to write for than Gourry. Gourry would just be happy with his new acquisition. Lina would be suspicious. 

So he conveniently sidestepped the reason why he was giving her the 2 books by saying that he didn't need them anymore and was hoping she found them interesting.

The maps sketched on some of the pages locating some of Rezo's hideouts was sure to distract her attention for a while. He'd already been thru them and found nothing of interest to him.

He tucked the note inside the top book and set them next to her. She stirred faintly in her sleep, then snored on. 

Zelgadiss felt a faint pang as he retreated once again. Lina had been one of his first real friends, and the one who probably be the most suspicious about Grey-kun. Unlike everyone else, she probably would not dismiss the cat's similarities to himself. 

He was half tempted to tell her, just so that -somebody- knew, but quickly dismissed that idea. 

He probably wouldn't survive the interrogation if she knew, chimeric body or not. She was scary like that.

The last note was to Amelia. This was the hardest one. 

There was so much he wanted to say, and at the same time so little he could say. 

He settled for a 'You looked cold, I hope this'll help keep you warm' note. 

Zelgadiss glanced at the note. Was he always so cold and detached? Sheesh. No wonder he'd been turned into a cat. 

He paused, mulling the thought over.

It was amusing, in one of those 'The Gods are Playing With Us' sort of ways. To learn how to act like a human, he had been turned into an animal. 

It meant that there was no one he could blame for the current predicament but himself. True, Rezo had turned his body into a hideous freak of nature, but he was the one who had changed his personality to fit it. Icy, cold and very very bitter.

The Kami had simply given him a shape more suited to that. And in doing so, forced him to adapt his personality once more. 

By becoming even more protective and affectionate to those he did hold dear. 

Zelgadiss blinked, realising that this was probably the first time that he had ever given them any sort of gift. And the act of doing so didn't hurt him. Quite the opposite. It made him feel better. About himself and them.

He shook his head, dismissing the thoughts as futile. The slight buzz in the back of his head informed that it was about time to change back. 

He reached over and put the ink and quill back where he found it, then poked the fire with a stick, causing it to flare up and release a burst of heat. 

Amelia stirred, blue eyes blinking as she sleepily opened her eyes. "Zelgadiss-san?" She murmured. 

"Shhh..." He whispered, putting another piece of wood in the fire, to keep it going until morning. "Go back to sleep." 

"Uhmmm-hmmm..." She agreed sleepily, closing her eyes. 

Zelgadiss gave a sigh of relief, standing up and yawning. There was a faint feeling of vertigo as the change started, as if he had stood up to fast. He quickly stepped to the other side of Amelia, placing the note by her head as he draped the cloak over her. 

He stepped back into the shadows of the forest, curling up as his shape changed. There was no pain involved in it, rather a vague numbing sense as his body warped and twisted, the world growing larger. He was more aware if it now, since his 'Zelgadiss' mental self stayed conscious instead of falling back into his subconscious. 

Less than a minute later, it was over and Zelgadiss was a kitten again. He gave himself a small shake, then turned toward the campfire for some much needed rest. 

Only to be greeted by a pair of sparkling eyes, deep as mystery peering out at him from strands of midnight black hair. "Zelgadiss... kun-?" Amelia whispered.

Animal instincts have 2 basic reactions when confronted. Fight or flight. Humans have a third. Fight, flight or try to talk your way out of it. 

Zelgadiss couldn't currently talk, he couldn't attack Amelia, and so he did the only other available option to him.

He turned tail and ran.

****

It was many many hours later before Zelgadiss' consciousness came to the fore front again. 

He was in the larger cat form again, running on the open road with Amelia on his back. 

Well, he had been right after all, that first night he'd woken up after being turned into a cat. If he tried to leave, he'd wake up right next to Amelia again with a mindful of cat memories.

Zelgadiss gave a mental sigh and retreated back to his subconscious again. What he really wanted to do right now was disappear somewhere and brood. Since that wasn't an option at the moment, he'd go back to sleep and let Grey deal with the endless miles of un-interesting road.

In the mean time, hopefully he'd be able to figure out a way out of this latest predicament.

One that didn't mean leaving the princess. 

TBC.


	8. In Which Zelgadiss sorts things out

In Which the Author and the Voices give up and end the fic.  
  
_To others the pain was obvious The colours of a bruise-unjust Abuse of trust can't be wiped  
I can't remember why I chose to say goodbye I'm terrified of what I might have severed  
I tried to forget the drowning truth Lashing inside my sea of youth  
Life seemed a fair sacrifice for peace_  
  
~*~

A soft tune greeted Zelgadiss' ears as he drifted back to awareness. He was laying on something soft while gentle hands stroked his face, brushing the bangs out of his face. He sighed contently. This was nice. He was soooo tired, it felt sooo good to relax.   
  
He tried to purr, but it came out more of a soft cough instead.  
  
Someone giggled above his head. He recognised the voice and the scent as Amelia's and let himself relax some more.   
  
A small window in the back of his head cracked open a bit, bringing light to his sleep befuddled mind.   
  
He was laying on something soft, that smelled like Amelia. Most likely a bed. Probably her bed.  
  
Amelia was nearby.  
  
He wasn't a cat.  
  
His eyes snapped open as logic re-asserted itself into his mind.   
  
Oh shit.  
  
Amelia looked down at him with large blue eyes. "Was beginning to wonder when you'd wake up."  
  
His mind gave logic the single finger salute and leapt into a state of blind instinctual panic.   
  
With a muffled yelp he scrabbled backwards, away from her. This resulted in the un-coordinated action of him falling off the bed, dragging the blanket covering him to land in a very un-dignified heap on the floor.   
  
Gut instinct said to flee. He was NOT supposed to be on the bed, especially NOT with Amelia and definitely NOT while in human form. With no clothes on, to boot. With his heart beating in his ears the way it was, he couldn't exactly remember -why- at the moment, but he knew it was bad.  
  
Modesty demanded that he not move from the safety of the blanket.   
  
Torn between the 2 conflicting impulses, he didn't notice Amelia leaning over the edge of the bed to look at him, concerned. "Zelgadiss-san?"   
  
He froze, staring at her like a petrified cornered cat.   
  
A hand reached down, brushing his bangs. "Sleeping." She murmured.   
  
Zelgadiss gave a small whisper of thanks as he pitched forward, fast asleep once again. 

  
~*~

  
It was several days later before Zelgadiss found himself on her bed again. The notable differences being: that it was early morning and Amelia was still in bed, he was a chimeric kitten, and last but most importantly, he was on a mission.   
  
Like last time however, he was scared out of his silly kitty mind. Even if he had his memories and was thinking like his human self.   
  
He was either going to end up as one very dead cat, or everything would be okay. At the moment, he wasn't sure which.   
  
Amelia was known for her big heart and generosity, but even he knew that she had limits. He only hoped he hadn't crossed them.   
  
She stirred, stretching as she woke up to greet the new day. There was a slight pause as her brain caught up, and then a near audible 'click' as she woke up completely. She sat up, idly running a hand thru her hair. "Good Morn-!"   
  
The habitual greeting died on her lips as she spotted him at the foot of her bed. "Grey-kun?" She whispered, as if disbelieving her eyes. Then hesitantly; "Zelgadiss-san?"   
  
He slowly rose, his limbs stiff and ready to run at the nearest motion. Carefully, not removing his eyes from her figure, he crept over and set down the two pieces of jewellery he'd been holding in his jaws next to her. She waited until he'd retreated back to his spot at the foot of the bed before moving to inspect them.   
  
One was her bracelet.   
  
The other was the reason he'd disappeared for several days.   
  
Amelia held up the small ruby and gold amulet to the light, watching it sparkle. "It's beautiful." She murmured.  
  
*Thank you.* He thought deliberately at her.   
  
She gasped, staring at him. "I... I heard you... In my head..." She stammered, clutching the stone in her palm.  
  
Zelgadiss nodded. *It's a Lofting Gem. It allows you to communicate with any creature wearing the matching one.* He deliberately lifted his head so she could see an identical amulet around his throat. *They're usually used by sorcerers and their 'familiars'.*  
  
"Thank you, but... Why?" She asked, looking bewildered.  
  
He shrugged, the tip of his tail twitching. *I thought... you might want to talk.* Zelgadiss said carefully. *And to apologise.*  
  
Amelia leaned forward so she was almost at eye level with him. "For what?"  
  
*For... deceiving you.* He looked down, unable to quite make himself meet her eyes. *I'm sorry.*  
  
She smiled at him, lightly tapping his nose with a fingertip. "I was mad at you for a little while about that." She admitted. "But not anymore."  
  
Zelgadiss blinked, trying to look at his nose. *Why not?*  
  
"Several reasons." She grinned, relaxing. Amelia had obviously had taken the time to think things over. "For one, I remembered you always hid or turned your back when ever I got dressed. You always were a gentlemen, even if it was confusing behaviour for a cat."  
  
He blushed. Or at least his face got hot, it was hard to tell if cats blushed.   
  
*Oh.*  
  
Amelia giggled. "So... how did this happen? How was your trip to the outside world? How are you doing?!" As she asked, she idly picked him up and set him in her lap, as had been her habit thru out the entire journey.  
  
*Wha... uh...* He looked up at her. *You're really alright with this, aren't you?*  
  
"I'm saving the Justice Speeches until after I found out what happened." She informed him primly, then smiled and began to scratch behind his ears.  
  
*Oh. Okay. Well, It all started when.... uh... heh... purrrrrrrrrrr...* He trailed off into a deep throated purr. He shook it off after a few moments and gave her a mock glare. *That's not fair.*  
  
She just giggled and urged him to tell his story.

  
~*~  


Night time. Zelgadiss loved night time in the Palace. The Gardens especially. And the Library. But it was a wonderful night to go strolling thru the gardens. The stars were shining, the night was balmy, everyone was asleep and he was human for the next hour.  
  
Zelgadiss gave a contented stretch as he finished dressing in the clothes he had stashed out in the gardens. Pyjama pants and a bathrobe with a hood. No one ever gave him a second look, figuring that he was just some Palace occupant who couldn't sleep. Which was close enough.  
  
Life was good.  
  
Amelia had listened to his story attentively, occasionally asking for clarifications at some points. After that, life went on pretty much as it had before she had discovered Grey-kun was really Zelgadiss. He went with her everywhere as Grey-kun, well, except for the hour he spent as a human, adding observations and information that she missed.   
  
An in return, they both got the one thing they both needed the most.   
  
A friend.   
  
A footstep echoed behind him, and he turned to see who it was. Prince Phil, looking very big and very imposing, stood there watching him.  
  
Perhaps he had spoken too soon. From the look of it, the Ruler had seen him transform from Grey-kun to Greywers. And he didn't exactly look happy about it.  
  
Crap.  
  
"Nice night for a walk, eh Zelgadiss-san?" Phil said, his tone unreadable. "Care to join me?"  
  
"Certainly." He nodded and fell in step beside the larger man, ignoring the instinct to run for his life, tail between his legs. Metaphorically speaking anyway.  
  
They strolled in silence for a while, both of them lost in their own thoughts until Phil cleared his throat. "When I asked you to keep on my daughter, this is not quite what I had in mind."  
  
"Nor was it what I had in mind either, your Highness." He answered back with wiry humour.   
  
Phil snorted, burying the amused sound in his bristly moustache.  
  
Zelgadiss turned serious. "I assure you, Prince Phil," He looked at the larger man, putting as much sincerity into his expression and voice as he could "I would not still be here if it were not without your daughters permission."  
  
"Then she knows?"   
  
"Everything."   
  
Phil nodded. "Then I suppose I can't ask for anything more." Zelgadiss found himself nearly doubled over from the pat on the back he received from the bear like-man. "Carry on!"  
  
With that, Amelia's father walked off, humming a happy tune that sounded suspiciously like one of Amelia's favourite songs full of Peace, Justice and Fuzzy Bunnies.   
  
"Uh.." Zelgadiss watched him go. He was never going to get used to that man. "...thanks?"   
  
He finally shook his head and continued his stroll thru the gardens. He still had over half an hour before he turned back to Grey-kun, and could return to Amelia's rooms to sleep.

_I can't remember why I chose to say goodbye I'm terrified of what I might have severed  
I ended up too high But never learned to fly So coming down I'm very thankful (you were there)_  
"Wisdom" [written and performed by Kristy Thirsk. from the Delerium CD: 'Karma'']   
  
-Fin-  
  
**Hugh Lofting is the author of the 'Dr. Dolittle' (who could speak to animals) books. Hence the jewel named after him.  
Umm... only works between the people wearing the 2 halves, so Grey-kun can't talk to anyone other than Amelia unless he turns human. Yes, it's a cheap plot device, but that's what was in the dreamscape.  
  
Yosh! Finally! It's done!   
  
If you're really eager to kill us, there is one last fic in the series, which is a Cliffhanger, because that's where the mental pics stopped. It can be found on our site: Mischif.net


End file.
